31 



many if they would take the matter in 

 hand and discover the source of this 

 thick honey. I believe much of it is 

 gathered from tl-tree (Leptospermum 

 scoparium). 



POISONOUS HONEY. 



That there are two plants in New 

 Zealand which yield poisonous honey 

 does not admit of doubt to those who 

 have carefully studied the matter. New 

 Zealand, however, is not singular in this 

 respect, for such plants are found in 

 most countries, ehiefiy among the heath- 

 worts (wild azaleas and rhododendrons), 

 and laurels. My first knowledge that 

 there were native plants yielding such 

 honey came from Maoris at the Thames, 

 in 1878. They not only gave me the 

 native names of the two plants they 

 knew of, but described very accurately 

 the symptoms and effect on human 

 beings of honey poisoning; and also 

 gave me to understand that such honey 

 if allowed to remain exposed for six 

 weeks after it is gathered, can be eaten 

 in safety, to all of which I have since 

 had proof of correctness. 



During my 42 years of beekeeping 

 in New Zealand I have only known of 

 four clear cases of honey ipoison'.ng; 

 that is, where the poisoning could be 

 distinctly traced to honey eaten by the 

 sufferers, so that the rislc is not very 

 great. The danger lies in eating honey 

 obtained from wild bee nests in the 

 bush in the month of October, when the 

 Wharangi ( Brachyglottis repanda) is 

 just going out of blossom, and again in 

 March and April, when the Waoriki 

 (Ranunculus rivularis) is in blossom — 

 the latter flourishes in swampy districts. 



As the honey season proper, on which 

 commercial beekeepers rely, does not 

 commence until about the beginnhig of 

 December, and no honey is taken till 

 the latter part of that month (more than 

 three months after the Wharang'l yields 

 nectar) it follows that no honey from 

 that source can reach the market. And 

 again, the honey season of the com- 

 mercial beekeeper has ended before the 

 Waoriki begins to blossom, so that 

 there is absolutely no risk in purchasing 

 honey of a known brand put on the 

 market. 



I have always endeavoured to got at 

 absolute facts in cases of alleged honey 



poisoning, in order to correct unreliable 

 reports that get about. In two eases my 

 inquiries led to an acknowledgment that 

 the trouble was not caused by honey; 

 in one of them I ate some of the so- 

 called poisonous honey without ill 

 effects. 



One of the most severe cases I have 

 known occurred in the Bay of Plenty, 

 ten miles from Matata, in the autumn 

 of 1889, when two young Maoris lost 

 their lives. As I could not go personally 

 to investigate the matter, my friend, the 

 Rev. J. R. Madan, who was then sta- 

 tioned at Matata, undertook the work 

 and furnished me with a full report, 

 which I published in the "Australasian 

 Bee Journal" for December, 1889. They 

 were out pig-hunting (three young 

 Maoris), when they came across a bee 

 nest in an old tawhero tree, overhanging 

 a deep ravine, and obtained some of the 

 honey from it. According to the sur- 

 vivor, neither of them ate more than 

 ■ about half a pound of clean honey in 

 the comb. About two hours afterward 

 symptoms of poisoning set in, giddiness 

 and vomiting, then delirium and cramps; 

 they all made for a stream to ,irink 

 water. (An old custom with Maoris 

 when suddenly taken ill.) One was 

 overcome on the way and fell uncon- 

 scious, while the other two were found 

 dead in the stream ; they had apparently, 

 from their bruised condition, fallen over 

 the precipice leading to the stream. The 

 one who fell on the way recovered con- 

 sciousness early next morning, and made 

 his way to a settlement near at hand, 

 when searchers went forth and dis- 

 covered the other two. 



The immediate cause of death was not 

 honey poisoning, but exposure and 

 drowning. Had they been overcome be- 

 fore reaching the precipice like their 

 mate, they would likely have recovered. 



In another case T investigated per- 

 sonally, six Maoris were poisoned but 

 all recovered. This latter occurred in 

 October' (spring) and the former in 

 autumn. 



During the past 42 years I have 

 eaten large quantities of honey 

 gathered in many districts without ill 

 effects, so that the risk of injury from 

 eating commercial lionev is practieallv 



n;i. 



